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Over the past few seasons, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra has teamed up with four of the leading ladies of classical music: Sharon Isbin, Leila Josefowicz, Frederica von Stade, and Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg. This edition of State of the Arts features these classical ladies in stories that focus on the passionate connection each has to the music she plays.
sharon isbin, guitarist
Sharon Isbin is a world class soloist playing one of the more unusual classical instruments: the guitar. Composer Christopher Rouse was commissioned to write Isbin a concerto; he came up with a work inspired by the visionary 19th century Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi. In an in-depth interview (done with her guitar in hand), Sharon Isbin describes how “Concert de Gaudí “reflects the “drippy, melty” look of Gaudi’s eccentric and highly influential buildings. State of the Arts producer Eric Schultz uses images of Gaudi’s work and speaks with Rouse to give a fascinating look at the creation and content of this award-winning contemporary classical piece.
 classical ladies: featured recording
Rouse: Concert de Gaudi / Dun: Guitar Concerto
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Sharon Isbin, guitarist
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leila josefowicz, violinist
Leila Josefowicz is one of the foremost young violinists of our time – just how young is revealed in clips from a 1989 State of the Arts story done when she was a teenage prodigy. Now an established international star, she discusses a violin concerto written for her by the renowned contemporary composer John Adams. Adams, says Josefowicz, “really believes in classical music that can be influenced by outside culture” such as jazz and rock music. State of the Arts producer Eric Schultz talks with Josefowicz about how she translates these “outside” influences into her performance of the Adams concerto, which she claims brought her to a whole new level in her career.
classical ladies: featured recording
John Adams: Violin Concerto
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Leila Josefowicz, violinist
Leila Josefowicz, violinist
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frederica von stade, mezzo-soprano
Frederica von Stade, or “Flicka,” as she’s called, was not yet born when her father was killed in WWII. He was only 25, a talented pianist, and devoted husband and father. His funny, moving letters home from the front were the basis for poems which composer Richard Danielpour then set to music. Sung by Flicka, the songs are heartbreakingly personal: she admits she has been searching for her father her whole life. The songs are also universal, expressing both pain and pride in the toll taken by a just war. State of the Arts producer Amber Edwards interviews both von Stade and Danielpour for this remarkable portrait.
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Frederica von Stade,
mezzo-soprano
Frederica von Stade,
mezzo-soprano
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nadja salerno-sonnenberg, violinist
Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg grew up in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, where she took part in a talent competition that won her the chance to play with the Philadelphia Orchestra when she was only 12 years old. Her choice: Mendelssohn’s Concerto in E Minor for violin and piano, one of classical music’s greatest hits. She’s still playing the Mendelssohn today (in this story with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra), and her relationship with the concerto is many faceted: “Every time I play it,” she says, “as corny as this sounds, I notice something I didn’t notice before… and I’ve played this piece a lot!” Salerno-Sonnenberg discusses how some of the greats have played the concerto, and demonstrates some of the variations that can be made on one of the arpeggio passages. She describes to State of the Arts producer Eric Schultz how her interpretation of the Mendelssohn has matured, and the challenge of putting her own stamp on such an overwhelmingly popular piece.
classical ladies: featured recording
Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg - Mendelssohn, Saint-Saëns, Massenet
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Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg,
violinist
Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg,
violinist
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